A New Begining
by FoureverDivergent04
Summary: This follows the story of Shelby, a Dauntless transfer initiate who is more than prepared for initiation. What will happen when she is reunited with her childhood friend, Eric, who is now a Dauntless leader?
1. Goodbye

I woke to an annoying sound coming from my window. I glance at the clock on my nightstand and squint, my tired eyes rejecting the light. It reads just after three o'clock. _"Who is tapping on my window at three a.m.?" _I force myself out from under the covers and walk quietly to my window, trying my hardest not to wake my sleeping little brother in the room next to mine.

I pull the curtains and glance out my window. At first I didn't see anything, or anyone, so I silently unlock my window, and step outside. All I saw was a flash of blonde and then a hand is around my neck, covering my mouth, and effectively muffling a scream. I hear a quiet chuckle and I turn and smack my window tapper on the arm. "Gosh Eric! You scared me to death!" He laughs again, "Sorry Shelbs. You're just fun and easy to mess with."

I take a moment to observe him. He wears his favorite pair of dark blue sweatpants with a blue hoodie. He doesn't look the least bit tired. My eyes transfer up to his face, to his perfect white smile. I can't help but to smile back. "Okay not that I'm not happy you're here but three a.m.? Really?" The smile on his face fades. "Do you know what tomorrow is?" My heart speeds up. Of course I know what tomorrow is. The choosing ceremony. Not mine of course, but Eric's. Sure he wasn't a full year older than me, but with my birthday being mid August and the cutoff for Eric's class being July 31st, I was just out of luck.

The fact that he even asked made my heart ache. "Yeah of course I know what tomorrow is. You'll be in the choosing ceremony." He must've sensed my mood change. "Shelby-" I cut him off, "You're leaving aren't you?" He frowned. "Yeah Shelbs, I am" My heart feels like it's falling. Eric? My best friend since before I could even remember, the boy who used to sit with me at night helping me with hard homework. The boy who stood up for me when kids picked on me at school. He was leaving me?

I felt the tears prick at my eyes, looking for an escape. Eric steps forwards and I'm pulled into his warm embrace. "I just had to see you before I left." I don't know why I feel so surprised. Deep in my heart I knew this was going to happen, I saw it coming. Eric and I used to always share stories about what it would be like to live outside the confinements of Erudite. We both felt we didn't belong here. "Dauntless." It was meant as a question but it came out as a statement. I didn't even need to ask.

"Yeah," he replied. Next thing I know his lips are on mine. We stay like that, me crying into his kiss, my grip on his arms tightening as if I can hold him here forever. In a way I am excited, yet sad and confused. Why now? Why show his feelings for me when he'll be gone tomorrow? He pulls away and looks into my eyes. "I couldn't leave without doing that…and saying goodbye." He presses his lips to my forehead, cheek, and finally my lips. They're gone too quickly. "Goodbye Shelby. I'll miss you."

And with that he's gone.

A/N- Hey! So this is my first story/chapter ever! I hope it was okay and some people liked it. Ever since I saw the Divergent movie I've been obsessed with Eric. So I got to thinking what he's like when he's not playing the "badass, mean instructor" character like he is in the books and movie. Usually when I try writing stories I can't ever get a good flow but I already have most of this story figured out. Anyway, I'll update soon :)


	2. Aptitude Test

Chapter Two- Aptitude Test

As I sit patiently waiting for my name to be called for my aptitude test, my nerves start to rise. I think about what my mother said before I left this morning.

"_Don't worry honey, there's no reason to be nervous. You're a very bright, talented young girl. I know you'll make the right decisions. Your father would've been so proud of you, so would Austin."_

Yeah well, if my older brother bothered to visit sometime, he'd be able to tell me he was proud of me. Austin chose to stay in Erudite a year before Eric left. Austin was a brother to him just as much as he is to me.

My brother is very intelligent. The difference between him and I was that he never got bored or tired of learning. His brain just couldn't soak up enough knowledge. Ever since ranking first in his initiation class, he has been very busy working in all sorts of labs throughout Erudite. My mom says that's why he can't visit.

I am pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of my name being called. "Shelby Allen." I follow the Abnegation woman to a room and sit in a cold metal chair.

"Hello, my name is Natalie. I'll be administering your test. Drink this please." She hands me a vial of clear liquid. The Erudite gets the best of me when I ask, "Why? What does it do?"

She laughs. "I can't tell you that. Don't worry, you'll be fine." I close my eyes and tip my head back, downing the liquid. When I open my eyes, I'm in a room surrounded by mirrors. In front of me are two bowls, one contains a knife, and the other cheese. A woman appears in the reflection behind me telling me to choose.

"Why?" I ask. "Choose!" The woman replies harshly. I grab the knife, not liking my options. The bowls disappear and I hear a low growl behind me. I turn slowly to see a large dog baring its teeth. I glance at the knife in my hand. _"So that's how they determine and eliminate factions."_

The dog lunges at me; I really don't want to kill the dog. Instead I poke it lightly right between the eyes. It stops and I scratch behind its ears. _"See, not so vicious now are you." _The scenery then changes and I'm sitting on a moving bus. I'm not alone.

A man sits across from me reading a newspaper. He points to a picture of a man on the front page. "Do you know who this is?" I do know. I just can't put a name to the face. "No," I reply. "I don't know him"

The man asks again, raising his voice and saying something about me being able to save him. _"This is a trick."_ I still deny and the setting fades. I open my eyes and I'm back in the metal chair while Natalie is typing frantically on the computer.

"What was my result?" I question. "Well," She begins. "You have displayed a very dangerous result. You showed equal aptitude for Erudite and Dauntless." _"Two factions?"_ "It's rare, they call it-"I cut her off. "Divergent."

"_How could I be divergent? My faction leader says they threaten the system, do I?" _Natalie continues," I am going to enter Dauntless as your result, but remember, Erudite and Dauntless are the most dangerous factions to be in if you're divergent. Please choose carefully."

I'm sitting in my room looking at my ceiling. I start to think about Eric, I'm sure he did well during his initiation. I also think about my mom and little brother, could I leave them? Eric flashes through my mind again. I think about all those nights up on my roof, us looking at the stars and discussing the future, laughing. I can't leave my family.

But I'm going to.

**A/N- Sorry if this chapter wasn't really what you wanted. I needed to get some background info in before I started to let the story flow. What did you think? I promise Eric will be in the next chapter. And if anyone has any ideas for this story I'm all ears! I flipping love FanFiction, I don't know why I didn't start uploading until now xD Anyway, I'll update soon :)**


	3. Initiates

**A/N- Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I was almost done writing chapter three and I was going to finish and upload it over the weekend but I left my notebook in my locker so I'm basically re-writing the whole chapter. Oh well. Hope you like :) **

The choosing ceremony was just as I expected it to be. Long and boring. This morning at breakfast I sat down with my mom and brother to tell them I was defecting. My mother just smiled sadly.

"I figured it'd happen." She said quietly as she pulled me into a hug. "I'll always love you."

Jacob was only 12, so he had a few years left to figure out what he wants to do. He was actually pretty excited when I told him I'd be joining Dauntless. He asked all sorts of questions like "Are you going to get a tattoo? Or get piercings? What about your hair color, will you dye it?" And there I was just worrying about making it through initiation. I've read a lot about it, it's tough. But I wouldn't expect anything else from our city's protectors.

"The view sure is something else, isn't it?"

I turn and look at the Candor boy who seemed to be admiring the view of the city from the train as well. "Yeah, it is. Beautiful." The boy smiles, he has dark brown hair and striking blue eyes, and the black and white color of his clothing matches his skin tone perfectly. He was handsome, I have to admit it.

"My name's Justin. What about you quiet? You haven't said anything but one sentence since we got on the train." I smiled, "I'm Shelby. And sorry that I'm not striking up conversation with everyone on this-"I am cut off by an Amity girl shouting over the noise of the train.

"Oh my god, they're jumping!" Justin and I look out of the cart to see all the Dauntless born jumping onto the roofs ahead. There's only about a five foot gap between the rail and the roof, I don't see a huge problem here.

"So are you afraid of heights?" Justin asks me. "No, not really," I reply. "Oh, well hold my hand, I'm terrified." I grab his hand and we jump on the count of three. One second I'm standing in the cart, and the next I'm standing safely on the roof of the Dauntless compound.

"See Shelby, that wasn't even that bad, you're such a girl."

"Well if it wasn't bad why're you still holding my hand?" I retorted. He didn't say anything, but he did pull his hand away. I look around and see the Amity girl who shouted pulling herself onto the roof. I walk over and extend my hand. "Need some help?"

She takes my hand and smiles gratefully. "Thank you! I guess I didn't get as big of a running start as I wanted." I laughed a little. "Well, we have plenty of time to work on it. I'm Shelby by the way, you're Mya right? I think we had the same lunch in school."

"Yep! That's me, the one and only." Our conversation is cut short by a loud shout from the other side of the roof. All the initiates gather around a gaping hole in the roof, a man with dark skin stands on the ledge, looking as if the wind picked up even in the slightest he would fall over.

"I would like to welcome all of you initiates. My name is Max, I'm one of your leaders. Behind me I'm sure you've noticed the entrance to our compound. This is the only way in."

He's interrupted by a Candor smart mouth," Wait, we just jumped on and off your moving trains, now you want us to jump off a seventy story roof?!"

Max just smirks," That's exactly what I want. Dauntless runs on bravery. Prove yours here right now. Our transfers have the honor of going first, do I have any volunteers?"

This is the first time I actually got a good look at my class of initiates. There were eleven transfers and ten Dauntless born. Of the transfers, there were four Erudites, three Amitys, and four Candors. No one from Abnegation.

I don't really know where my sudden motivation came from, but I want to do the best in initiation. When Max asked for volunteers whispers started floating around, of course no one wants to jump first, we have no idea what's down there. When I think about it, this all makes sense. _Everything is a test._

I speak up, "I'll go." Max smiles and hops down from the ledge. Justin chuckles from behind me as I approach the ledge, "Wow, shocker." I hear him say.

I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't afraid of heights. What I am afraid of is what will catch me at the bottom. I'm hoping and praying for something like a net instead of water. I can't swim.

While climbing on the ledge, Sam, one of the Candor girls snickers and whispers loud enough so I could hear her, "Please let her slip, please let her slip." The other two Candor girls burst out laughing. I turn to them, "It's funny you thought that was hilarious, just wait until you slip and she's laughing at you two."

"Today initiate," Max says from the side. When he notices I intend to jump backwards he adds," What, are you afraid to look down while you fall?"

Then it's my turn to smile, "Not exactly." And with that I jump high and do a back flip off the ledge.

The wind slaps me in the face and blows my hair around. The feeling is exhilarating. Before I knew it, I'm bouncing slightly on a net. I can't stifle the giggle that escapes my lips. I can hear a few woops and cheers from the initiates on the roof. _Amazing._

I am pulled out of my thoughts by someone pulling the net and me rolling to the edge. A man grabs my waist and pulls me down, setting me lightly on my feet. "Name?" He asks sounding bored.

I look up and immediately gasp. The man, or boy really considering he's only eighteen years old looks down at me for the first time. Then the recognition on his face is evident. His beautiful green eyes lock onto mine; he's gotten quite a bit taller since I last saw him. He's about a full head taller than me and the Dauntless black clothing suit him well.

_Eric._

**A/N- I feel like this chapter was moving very slow and I know I said Eric would be in it, which he is, just not as much as I would have liked. I felt the chapter was getting a little lengthy so I stopped where I felt necessary. Anyway, next chapter things will heat up very quickly, so be ready :) **


	4. Reunion

Even though we only kept eye contact for a few seconds, it felt like hours. He cleared his throat before repeating himself.

"Name, initiate?"

My heart clenched. _What the hell?_ "Shelby" I replied, stepping away from Eric. "First jumper, Shelby!"

I am motioned over to an area to wait for my fellow initiates. Justin, to my surprise, jumps second. He came bouncing towards me with a huge grin and threw his arm around my shoulders.

While waiting, a few Dauntless members gathered to view this year's initiates. A tall, good-looking Dauntless, whose name I figure out is Four, walks up and stands in front of us.

Eric hasn't looked at me once since helping me off the net, yet I can't keep my eyes off him. His hair is longer now and metal in his eyebrow and ears sparkle when it hits the light. He has thick, black ink running down his neck and arms. I have to admit, it's pretty damn sexy.

Mya is the last to jump and I feel a little bad for her, I hope she makes Dauntless. Suddenly Four walks to the front of the pack and turns to address us.

"Initiates, my name is Four. To my left is Eric, he is one of your leaders. He will also be partnering with me to train the transfer initiates."

_What?! Eric, a Dauntless leader? He only transferred last year!_

"Alright, Dauntless born initiates with Lauren, transfers stick with us. We're going on a tour."

Four and Eric lead us around the compound showing us various places such as the pit, chasm, and the training room. When we walk past the chasm a shiver of fear runs through me.

When we reach the place we'll be sleeping Eric speaks up, "This is your dorm, boys and girls, you'll get used to it. A few ground rules, training starts everyday from eight to six with a break for lunch at noon. Do not, be late. Also, none of you are permitted to leave the compound without a full Dauntless member. Is that clear?" Several murmurs are heard and the other initiates nod their heads.

The way Eric speaks shocks me. The cold tone he uses, it isn't necessary. His huge muscular build and the fact that his whole demeanor screams authority proves he doesn't need to act intimidating.

Eric's eyes scan the room and stop briefly when they land on mine. The look on his face is hard to read, it almost looks like guilt. Four dismisses us for dinner and Eric grabs my arm, keeping me in my place. When everyone clears out he turns to me.

"Shelby, what the hell are you doing here?" I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Well I wouldn't be here had you not held me back."

He smirked. "I meant in Dauntless, why'd you follow me here?"

_Oh my god. He actually thinks I followed him here like some lovesick little girl?_

"That's cute, no Eric. I actually followed my aptitude test." His eyes narrowed at me, something I never thought I'd ever see.

"Well you sure have changed Shelby, but remember here I am your leader, so you will respect me. And I think you made a mistake choosing Dauntless."

My heart fell apart, piece by piece with each word he said to me. Who did this to him? What happened to the boy I cared so much about? Then a wave of anger washes over me. _How dare him!_

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but here I am. I've been preparing for this and I intend to do well here, with or without your consent."

After that I storm out of the room. The whole initiation process is starting to worry me now.

_If that happened to Eric, what will happen to me?_

_**A/N- Hey! Just wanna say thanks to everyone who reviewed so far! I love reading them, they make me so happy :3. Anyway, were you expecting that kind of reunion? Next chapter will be in Eric's POV, I'm almost done with it. Well, please review! I'll update soon :) **_


	5. Reunion Pt 2

**Eric POV**

I wake to the aggravating blaring of my alarm clock. I roll out of bed and head to the bathroom to prepare for a long day. Today the initiates are coming.

After a quick shower and brushing of my teeth I leave for the dining hall. I pick up some food and take a seat next to Lauren and Four.

"Hey Eric, you ready to train your first batch of brats?"

Lauren had been training me to train the initiates. I don't see why it required training, it didn't seem that hard to me. I glance over at Four and nudge him with my elbow.

"You ready for today?"

I don't hate Four. Sure, I was pretty pissed when after stage one of our initiation he passed me with simulations, but what could I have done? I was good, but he only had _Four_ fears. Nothing I did could compare to that. The thing is, we can acknowledge each other's skills, so that's how we work.

"As ready as I'll ever be"

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I stand at the edge of the net waiting for the train to arrive with the initiates. I don't know where Four is, he's probably in his fear landscape again. He said he keeps going in there with hopes that it will change. I don't think it will anytime soon.

"Initiates, welcome!" I hear Max shout from the roof. _About time._ Four is still not back yet, so I guess I'm on my own for now. A few moments later the first jumper hits the net.

All I see is a flash of blue and hear quiet giggling. _Great, a nose._ I reach up and grab the girls waist easily lifting her from the net and place her on the ground. She's really light.

"Name, initiate?" I ask

Suddenly I hear a gasp and I look down at her, _really_ look at her. As soon as I look into those big, dark brown eyes my throat tightens. _Shelby._

I clear my throat and ask again, "Name, initiate?"

A look of confusion and hurt sweeps her features before replying and walking where the initiates are required to wait. One by one initiates drop and finally after what seems like hours the final initiate is standing with the others.

Four finally decided to show up, taking his place in front of the initiates.

"Initiates, my name is Four. To my left is Eric, he is one of your leaders. He will also be partnering with me to train the transfer initiates."

When Four mentions my leadership I can't help but smirk at some of the reactions. I'm only eighteen and I hold the third highest position in Dauntless leadership. To be honest, I love the power; it gives me a sense of accomplishment after ranking so high in initiation. I can't say the same about the requirements.

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I can feel eyes burning into my back as Four and I lead the initiates on a tour of the compound. After laying out the ground rules in the dorms, I look at Shelby. She may be deadly smart, but she has little to no muscle and is afraid of _a lot_ of things. I hold her back while everyone clears the room.

"Shelby, what the hell are you doing here?" I ask. Then she surprises me. _She raises her eyebrows at me._

"Well I wouldn't be here had you not held me back." I smirk at that smart ass remark. "I meant in Dauntless, why'd you follow me here?"

"That's cute, no Eric. I actually followed my aptitude test." I narrow my eyes at her. _Look at this new attitude she's got. _

"Well you sure have changed Shelby, but remember here I am your leader, so you will respect me. And I think you made a mistake choosing Dauntless." That last part was only half true. She would've perfectly fine in Erudite, her father was a head scientist in most of the labs, and her brother was right up there with him, she had a great future there. In Dauntless however… she'll need to work extra hard to pull through and do well, and there's a part of me that hopes she does.

The look on her face is one I hope to never see again. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but here I am. I've been preparing for this and I intend to do well here, with or without your consent."

After she leaves I walk through the narrow halls and collect my thoughts. When I reach my apartment, I don't hesitate throwing myself into bed.

_This is going to be one hell of an initiation. _

**A/N- Hey everyone! How'd you like Eric's POV in this chapter? I plan to write some more later in the story so it'd be great if they were liked xD Anyway like the story so far? I know this chapter was a lengthy one, and it honestly killed me to type. Oh well lol, but please review! That's literally the best feeling, very appreciated. Well, until next time :)**


	6. Training

After my heated discussion with Eric I immediately head for the dining hall in search of Justin and Mya. When I walk in I really notice how many members Dauntless has. Even though I can't see much over everyone, I clearly see Justin sitting with the other initiates at a few tables in the corner. As I get closer I realize Four is also sitting with them.

"Look who finally showed up," Justin said when I reach them, "what took you so long?" It's then I realize all the initiates are looking at me. I sit down between Justin and Mya, across from Four before I answer.

"I wanted to sort of memorize the compound a little bit since we have to go to the training room everyday. This place is huge; I guess I got a little lost."

Justin just chuckled and shook his head a little before returning to his food. My excuse worked for everyone. Everyone except Four. He looked around the dining hall before looking at me with a puzzling gaze before brushing it off.

I was introduced to some of the initiates that I wasn't familiar with before we came to Dauntless. Most told me how I was crazy for being the first jumper. The only initiates whom I would have a problem with are Caleb and Sam, who have also been getting close with Ricky. Caleb and Sam are both from Candor and Candor "always" tell the truth. That being said I have been told many times that they do not like me. It's never been a problem before, so hopefully they keep to themselves.

We stayed in the dining hall for about a half an hour before Four told us we should get some sleep due to the first day of training being the hardest. He didn't have to tell me twice.

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The next morning I'm the first one up, which I am happy about. The bathrooms provide no privacy at all so I take the opportunity to take a nice shower.

After I'm showered and dressed in a black tank top and black yoga pants, I walk into the dorm to find the other initiates waking up. Justin is the only one still in bed. I put my clothes in the trunk they provide each of us and walk to the other side of my bed, the side closest to Justin's.

"Justin, we have to be at training in fifteen minutes," I say lightly shaking his shoulder.

He mumbled something incoherent and rolled over covering his face with his pillow. I sighed, "Seriously we can't be late the first day of training. Get up or I'm getting some water."

He got up.

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We walk in the training room with two minutes to spare, but Four was already discussing something with the initiates when he turned to us.

"You two are lucky Eric isn't here. Even though you weren't technically late he wouldn't have been happy." We both nod and the man himself walked in.

"Just so we're clear if any of you are late punishments will be handed out, and I don't think you will like that very much," he said with a smirk. Several initiates nod and Four continues his discussion on ranks, earning gasps and murmurs from those expecting an easy ride into Dauntless. Eric walks up to Four and whispers something and he nods. At some point in their short conversation I hear Eric say something about Four handling today's training. He responds that it's no problem and things will get important tomorrow. Eric chuckles and says something I don't catch before turning to leave.

"Have fun on your first day initiates, hopefully you didn't eat a lot," he says as he walks out the door.

"Alright let's get started!" Four shouts. "Your training will take place in three parts, each stage weighted more heavily than the last. The first stage is physical, we will push your bodies to their breaking points. The second is emotional, and the third, mental. Today's training will be strictly conditioning. So to start we're going on a little run."

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Four's "little run" turned out to be a lot more exhausting than we imagined. He led us outside to a large field that had a track running around it and tons of workout equipment, even more than in the training room itself.

"This was set up specifically for this year's initiates, use it to your advantage."

We ended up running the track for a full two hours. Justin and I kept a good pace right behind Four the entire time. It was nice though; Justin and I had a really nice conversation about our old factions and what we look forward to at Dauntless. A couple of times Four scolded us about how we're Dauntless now, and he didn't want to hear about our old factions. At one point Caleb caught up to us and started making smart ass remarks.

"Hey nose, I though the Erudite only cared about learning and didn't do any physical activity. How come you're so fast?"

Four sped up the run after Caleb started teasing me which I was grateful for. The physical toll started setting in on some of the initiates; Mya couldn't run any longer after an hour and a half so Four had her sit out. By the end of the two hours only seven of us were still standing.

The next two hours were pretty boring. We did all sorts of exercises that most I worked on when I decided I wanted to train for Dauntless, sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and weight lifting. I had a very strong core; you could definitely see the toned muscles in my stomach. As for upper body strength, that needed some work.

When Four dismissed us for lunch I sat with Justin and ate a little fruit, not really wanting to make myself sick because we still had five hours left of training. An hour later we all headed back to the training room and had an exact repeat of this morning's training.

By the time training was over my entire body ached. I did about two thousand sit-ups and push-ups over the duration of today and I never want to do them again. Everyone cleared out right when Four dismissed us. I stayed back though to stretch out a little and waved Justin ahead when he said he'd wait for me.

I was just about to walk out the door when I walked straight into a hard, muscular chest. I looked up and smirked as my brown eyes met Eric's green ones.

_**A/N- So if you didn't notice I haven't uploaded in a while and that is because this chapter was a really difficult one for me to write. I have all the major events already planned it's just the sort of fillers leading to them that give me trouble. Anyway I hope this wasn't too bad, sorry if it sucked. I'm going to start writing chapter seven right after I upload this so be ready. And please review! :) I love those. **_


	7. Shooting

Eric's arms wrap around my waist to steady me before I fall. I meet his gaze and he smirks at me.

"Watch where you're going initiate."

"Yeah, sorry. Thanks Eric." I go to move away but one of his arms is still around my waist so I raise my eyebrows as if to say, _"what now?"_ He stares at me intently before he slowly removes his arm.

"Sorry, you're just so…different."

"Well the passage of time tends to change people."

"Indeed it does," he half smiles. "now get out. This is when I work out and I don't need any distractions."

I laugh and step around him to exit the room. I'm almost at the dining hall when I suddenly stop in my tracks.

_Distraction?_

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Once again I am the last initiate in the dining hall. I slid into a seat next to Mya, Justin wasn't there. Mya passes me a hamburger but I shake my head politely and grab an apple and some vegetables.

"Shelby, you like, barely eat, why?" Mya asks. I turn and reply, "Trust me I like food," Snickers are heard around the table, "I just don't eat meat is all." She nods in understanding and returns to her food.

Spencer, a boy who also transferred from Erudite nudges me with his elbow, "You have no idea what you're missing out on," he says with a smirk.

After I finish eating I head into the pit and go into one of the clothing shops. I only have two pairs of clothes and they're both dirty now. Some new ones would be nice. I look around and a woman with black hair and pink stripes in it walks up to me.

"Hey initiate, need help finding something?" She smiles.

"Yeah I just wanted to get some clothes for training and leisure activities."

The woman, whose name is Claire, leads me to a rack where I pick up two black pairs of pants and a few black tank tops. Claire also talks me into getting a black lace dress that cuts off at my knees. She smiles at me and takes some points off of my account in the computer.

I head back to the dorm and drop my stuff off. Justin is sitting on his bed tying his shoes when I walk in. I sit next to him.

"Hey you, where were you at?"

He looks up and around the room, his eyes scanning over Caleb and Sam before scowling. "I'll tell you later, let's get out of here."

"Cool, I was just about to head to the tattoo parlor, wanna come?"

Justin jumps to his feet and grins, "That is perfect." When we walk out of the dorm I turn my head towards him. "Okay, spill. Why'd you look so pissed at Caleb and Sam?" I question. He sighs and puts his arms behind his head. "They just…ugh! It's so petty. Caleb was just making comments about training today. He said that it's cute that I keep the same pace as my girlfriend, and he said some other things on the way to the dining hall. I swear I wanted to hit him, so I just went to the dorms."

It's then I realize how much I have been with Justin since coming to Dauntless. We've basically been together every minute so I see why people would think we're together. I lightly punch his shoulder. "It's okay Justin, they're just mad that they aren't as in as good of shape as we are," I put my arm around his shoulder, "Anyway, I don't think you're quite my type." I laugh. He smiles and we walk into the tattoo parlor.

"So Shelby, you going to get a tattoo, or a piercing?"

I look around at all the glass panels lining the walls covered in designs for tattoos. I'd love to get one, but I think I'll wait.

"I'm getting some piercings." A man with tattoos covering both his arms takes me into a back room. I get two piercings, one in my bottom lip and one in my nose. Both studs. After I'm all done I go into the room next to the one I was in where Justin was currently getting a wolf tattooed on his back. It wasn't that big, it took up about three quarters of his right shoulder blade.

"It looks good," I say. "Very Dauntless."

By the time we walk into the dorms I'm totally beat. I crawl into bed and I'm asleep as soon as my head touches my pillow.

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I wake up at about the same time I did yesterday and followed pretty much the same routine. Shower, get dressed, wake Justin up, get breakfast, and head to training room. When we walk in today Four and Eric are finishing loading guns that are on a table. Targets line the opposite side of the room. When the last initiate walks in Eric begins, "Today, if you haven't noticed, you will be learning how to assemble, load, and fire a gun." He showed us the easiest way to take apart and put the guns together which was simple enough.

"Now I'm going to demonstrate the proper was to fire a gun. Pay attention if you wish to do well." I studied his stance carefully. The distance he kept his feet apart, the way he kept his shoulders square with his hips. "Now go get a target and start shooting."

Justin and I walked to the targets furthest to the end. Me on Justin's Left, and Mya on his right. I practice my stance, becoming comfortable with it before I realize I'm the only initiate who hasn't shot yet. Down towards the opposite end of the row I see Eric and Four slowly walking down, observing the initiates. I turn towards my target.

_Inhale, aim, exhale, fire. _I repeat in my head. I shoot and my first shot makes it in the third circle from the center. I sigh and go again, repositioning my feet and shoulders. My second shot makes it in the second circle, one away from the center. "Ugh!" I let out in frustration. Suddenly I hear a quiet chuckle and turn to see Eric smirking at me.

"Having trouble initiate?" I'd say it was an honest question, but he asked it to spite me.

"Nope. Don't worry, I'll get it," I say back. Once again I turn toward my target. I hear heavy footsteps and an arm snakes around my waist. Eric turns my hips so they're perpendicular to my target. Then he kicks my feet apart a few inches. He steps forward and I can feel his breath on my ear, "I'm sure you will," he starts. He put his other hand on my shoulder. "Now shoot."

He steps back and I can still feel his body heat. I fire and this time I hit the center. I can't contain the grin that spreads across my face as I turn to Eric but something stops me. All the initiates were watching me. Some with shock, others with excitement, and some with envy. I was the only initiate, besides Justin and Caleb who had hit the center.

Eric's back to leaning against the wall, wearing his signature smirk and I smile a little. I mouth two words to him.

_Thank you._

_**A/N- This chapter was really fun and easy for me to write. I love chapters like these! I think I'm going to make next chapter Eric's POV. And I want to play a game (Creepy smile) even though it's sort of just a guessing game. I want to see if anyone can guess my name and age. So leave a review and guess! That'd be nice. If you win I'll let you pick an event to happen in this story. I'll upload soon! :)**_


	8. Throwing

_**A/N- Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted recently. I'm currently working on FOUR stories. I don't know how writers do this, but expect some new stories soon. Well my name is Shelby :) I think two people guessed that xD And yes I named my main character after myself because I'm writing this Eric X OC relationship how I would want mine to be if you know, I was in Divergent. I am fourteen, shocker right? I'll private message the reviewer who guessed my name correctly and took a shot at my age soon.**_

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We continue shooting for the rest of the morning and when we break for lunch Mya is the only initiate who hasn't hit the center of the target. Justin and I hang back massaging our fingers while Four talks to her. When she joins us we head to the dining hall which I almost refuse to do because Mya is on the verge of tears, but she insists.

We sit at our normal table and start eating. To my surprise, a few Dauntless born initiates walk into the dining hall and straight to our table. Four of them.

"Hey newbies. Mind if we join you?" asks who I assume is the leader of their little pack. I look to Mya and Justin who seem to be okay with it so I smile.

"Yeah, sure. My name is Sh-"

"Shelby, we know. You were the first jumper," the boy interrupts me.

"And let me be the first one to say, you look much better in our color than blue," the other says. I look between the two and do a quick double take. They both laugh and the girl with them speaks up.

"I'm Whitney. Those two are the not so famous loud mouth twins on the Dauntless born side of the compound."

"I'm Dante," says the boy on my left, "and Jace is the less hot version of me on your right."

There's one more Dauntless born boy sitting across from me. He hasn't said a word yet.

"Hey, what's your name?" I ask.

He looks up but still doesn't acknowledge me. Whitney introduces him as Bryson.

"He doesn't really say much if you haven't noticed."

We make light conversation until it's time to head back to training.

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When we walk into the training room new targets line the wall and a new weapon is layed out. Knives.

Eric calls attention to the front of the room, "Listen up initiates! Most of you did better than expected this morning while shooting. Now we're going to step it up a little. Everyone grab three knives and pay attention! We will only demonstrate once."

Eric and Four both face a target and get ready to throw. I look to Eric, taking in every inch of his posture. His feet shoulder length apart, the way he follows through with his arm, which his bicep is most likely bigger than my head. He breathes out before he releases the knife, I watch the rise and fall of his sculpted chest… _what the hell!_

_I did NOT just check him out._

"Now get a target and get throwing," says Four.

I choose a target between Justin and Mya and get working on my form. I pass the knife between my hands and conclude that because of the weight, I will need to aim a little above the bulls-eye if I intend to hit it.

After a while Eric and Four start walking down the line evaluating us. When I look around I realize I'm the only one who hasn't thrown a knife. Caleb is the person closest to hitting the center.

_Alright, here we go._ _Inhale, aim, exhale, and throw. _When I release the knife it soars through the air and hits the outer circle. It doesn't stick. _Damn._

I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a sigh of relief from Justin.

"Finally, damn."

I look at his target and smile. His knife is sticking out of the center. He grabs another knife and continues to throw as do I. My next one hits the ring closest to the center but still doesn't stick. I sigh and almost ask Justin for help, but Eric and Four are almost to us and I don't want them to think I can't do this. I know I can.

Four watches Justin throw and Eric walks behind me and leans against the wall.

"Let's see what you got initiate."

I face my target and ready myself. When I throw my knife I try snapping my wrist to get more power behind it. The knife fly's and sticks in the ring just outside the bulls-eye. _At least it stuck. _

"Not bad. It still needs work. I'd practice this if I were you," commented Eric. Then he walks away to watch Mya throw.

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"I wanna get a tattoo," says Mya as she sits with Jace, Dante and I.

"Wait a minute! You've been here for two whole days and you haven't permanently inked your body yet?!" shouts Jace in false surprise.

"I thought you wanted to wait Mya?" I question. She looks down at her plate.

"Well I had planned on it. But I think I need the motivation. We just started training and I'm already not doing well."

I feel bad for her. She's from Amity, I don't think there has ever been an Amity to pass Dauntless initiation.

"Let's go get you some ink then shall we, Shelby, you coming?" asks Jace. I play with my lip ring. I've been doing that a lot lately, especially when I think.

"No thanks, you guys go ahead. I think I'll just wander a bit."

Jace frowns, "Okay, well we will see ya later then."

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After dinner I wandered around the pit for quite a while. There weren't that many people around which surprised me. I noticed Dauntless had one bar. It was a nice size too; you could probably fit half the compound in there.

When I walk past it I see Four and Eric having drinks discussing something. Eric's eyes meet mine and I keep walking.

I end up near the chasm and slow down. _I hate this damn thing… _I slowly walk across the bridge, my hand sliding against the rail. Halfway over I decide to stop and look into the water. The noise is loud, yet comforting. Four had said something about people jumping into the chasm. The thought alone makes me shiver.

I become so relaxed that I don't hear the approaching footsteps. I almost jump when I feel someone grab my waist.

_**A/N- So what did ya think? I originally had this chapter half written when I posted chapter seven but I ended up hating it so I restarted the whole thing. I'm trying to decide how to do the timing in this story because I feel like at the rate I'm going this story is going to be way too long and I want to get to the drama already :) And I have a baby cousin named Bryson and I absolutely love his name so that's where it came from. I named every OC in this story after someone I know in real life XD Please review and give me thoughts, I love reading them.**_


	9. Threat

_**A/N- Here's chapter nine :). I'm trying to find a good length for my chapters and I really want to make them longer but mostly I just try to find a good place to stop and I LOVE this chapters ending point. Gave me goose bumps writing it. I hope you guys don't mind, there is a lot of dialogue in this chapter.**_

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"Oh my God Dante! You almost gave me a heart attack!" I nearly scream. He laughs and shakes his head.

"Hey I called your name. You are the one who is mesmerized by the chasm." He leans on the rail and looks down.

"Actually this thing scares the hell out of me," I admit, "So other than you also being here to scare the hell out of me, what do you want?"

He smirks, "I didn't want to listen to Mya whine the whole time she got the damn tattoo."

I'm a little shocked, "Was she crying?" I ask.

"Almost," he says, "It's just a needle, if she can't handle that pain then there is no way she'll make it through stage one."

_He knows what we're doing in stage one…of course he does! He's been training for this his whole life._

"Speaking of stage one…" I trail off, leaning towards him.

His eyes go wide, "Hey don't look at me like that! Us Dauntless born aren't supposed to tell you guys what happens in training."

A mischievous smile spreads across my face, "Well Dante, I happen to be very good at keeping secrets."

He sighs, "Alright, Tomorrow during the first half of training you will be working on target practice. After lunch will be the test. The day after tomorrow is the start of hand to hand combat training and that's all I can say!"

_Hand to hand combat, interesting._

I throw my arms around Dante and hug him.

"See, this is why it's nice to be friends with a Dauntless born. Thank you!" I smile and pull away.

"Yeah, yeah. But you didn't hear it from me."

"Hear what?"

A third voice enters our conversation causing both Dante and I's heads to whip in Eric's direction.

"Now Dante, I know you're not spoiling all our surprises in store for our transfers."

Dante smiles sheepishly and holds his hands up in a mock defense. "Hey man, you know I would never-"

Eric scoffs, "Oh please, all she probably had to do was look at you to get you to talk, Stokes."

I turn away and look back at the chasm. Dante talks to Eric for a couple of minutes before getting slapped on the back and calling to me,

"Hey I gotta run. I'll see you around Shelby!"

Eric stalks over to me and sits on the bridge, one hand on the rail.

I can't hold my tongue, "So am I in trouble for just knowing what we'll be doing? Seems a bit childish to me." I look down and see his jaw tighten.

"Originally no, but I might reconsider if you keep running that smart mouth of yours."

I decide to change the subject, "So you and Dante seem close, how'd that happen?"

He smirks, "The twins' idiot brother Nick was in my initiation class. We got pretty close."

Anger flashes through my eyes and I know he saw it. I don't really know why I'm mad. Eric left Erudite, left _me _and he didn't even seem to care. He wasn't even affected_. Did he even mean what he said the night he left?_

"Okay well that's great and all, but we have training tomorrow so I better go."

I don't look back to see his reaction as I walk away from the chasm. The only thing on my mind is sleep.

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Dante was right. The first half of training today was all target practice. Before Four dismissed us for lunch he informed us about the test when we return.

"I'm just glad Eric wasn't there, he makes me so nervous," commented Mya.

"Yeah he's so intimidating! It scares me," inputs Morgan.

I knew Eric my entire life. He's been in Dauntless for one year. In that year, he's destroyed almost everything I thought he was. People change, I get that. Eric seems pretty pleased with himself though. He is intimidating, but there must be something else going on.

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When we walk into the training room Four and Eric seem to be in the middle of some kind of contest. Eric has five knives sticking out of the center of his target. Four has one more to throw. Just as he's about to release it Eric whispers something that causes Four to lose focus and hit the outer ring of the target.

Once they collect their knives Four addresses the group.

"Now is the time to put what you've learned to the test., each of you will be given an opponent, and it will be their aim against yours."

Eric takes over, "This test will be tournament style. You want to knock your opponent out with the number of times you hit the bulls-eye. The farther you progress, the more points you earn."

I end up vs. Tara first. She is an Amity transfer like Mya. She's good, but not better than me. As the afternoon drug on I end up eliminating Tara, Morgan, and Alex. In between my matches I saw Caleb take out Sam, which I enjoyed. Justin beat Ricky, and Mya lost her third round to Jenn.

We continue for about thirty more minutes until it's only Me Vs. Spencer and Justin Vs. Ricky. I didn't get to watch the other match; I was too focused on beating Spencer.

I won by one knife, and Four announces, "For the last round we'll be doubling the target distance, let's go initiates."

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Is it weird that I did better with the doubled distance than normal?

I beat Caleb by two points, he was fuming. The only thing that you had to do was aim higher and throw harder to hit the bulls-eye. Caleb didn't get it.

I decide to skip dinner and head to the showers. I stand under the hot spray for a good ten minutes, my sore muscles needed it. I wrap a towel around my body and start walking to the dorm. The sound of talking stops me in my tracks.

"No, Ricky, there is no way I'm going to be shown up by that stupid Erudite bitch!"

"Calm down, Caleb! You can't let her get to you like this."

"Oh I won't. She needs to learn a lesson," snarls Caleb.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" asks Ricky.

I peek my head around the corner to see Caleb smile wickedly.

"_Just get her alone, I'll handle the rest."_

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_**A/N- So what'd you think? I'm really sorry if the chapters not as long as you want it to be. And I'm sorry if I rushed the knife throwing test. I thought it'd be really boring if I described each one in detail. I'll make up for everything with next chapter. Eric and Shelby get very up close and personal ;) You'll see what I mean. I'll update soon, please review! I love them :)**_


	10. Nightmares

_**A/N- Sorry for such a late update, I've been really busy but I hope you enjoy. Also go check out my new story Overcoming Divergence :) In advance I would like to apologize for any spelling/grammar errors in this chapter.**_

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I wait until Caleb and Ricky leave the dorm before walking and plopping onto my bed. I knew Ricky back in Erudite. Sure, we were never close friends or anything. Hell I don't even think I've had a full conversation with him. I would've never guessed he'd help Caleb in trying to hurt me. Why does Caleb hate me so much? I didn't do anything to him, and why was he so jealous? All I did was beat him in a friendly scored competition.

Even though Caleb doesn't scare me I'm going to make sure I'm always with a friend. Caleb wouldn't try anything around other people.

I'm just finishing drying my hair when everyone returns from dinner. Justin strolls in the dorm with a giggling Mya on his back. He tosses her on her bed before patting my head and jumping face down on his bed.

"I am so exhausted," he mumbles into his pillow.

I laugh and lay down on my own bed. Combat training starts tomorrow and we need all the rest we can get.

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"_You are going to assist me," a familiar voice says. I whip around and see my mother, Jacob, Austin, and Eric lined up. Jeanine Mathews, my old factions leader stands in front of them, two armed Dauntless at her side._

"_You were the perfect Erudite," Jeanine continues, "you can protect those you love if you help me."_

_I turn and to my left is a mirror. The word "Divergent" is written across my forehead. I lift my hand and try to wipe it off but the word it tattooed on my skin._

"_What is it you want me to do?" I ask quietly._

_She smirks, "You are going to report the Divergents in you initiate class to me."_

_My stomach drops. I can't do that. That would mean going against those like me. Tori's words echo in my head, "Being divergent is dangerous." That means someone like me could get hurt if Jeanine knew about them."_

"_I'm sorry, I can't help you," I whisper. Her eyes meet mine and her lips turn upwards, "I thought you'd say something like that. Looks like I will have to change your mind." She nods to the Dauntless guards and they walk behind Eric, and Jacob. The first raises his gun to Eric's head._

_He smiles at me,"It's okay Shelbs."_

_My throat tightens and my eyes get blurry, "No, wait-"_

_I am cut off when the Dauntless pulls the trigger and Eric slumps to the floor, lifeless. The second Dauntless raises his gun to Jacob's head._

"_You can stop this, just agree to help me," she insists. _

_I look at Eric, blood is pooling around him and the tears in my eyes spill over._

_I scream._

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I shoot up in my bed and quickly scan my surroundings. All I hear is the quiet breathing of the other initiates.

_What a dream._

I pull me covers off of me and climb out of bed. I look at my watch and it reads 2:15.

_Great, so much for _getting_ a good night's sleep._

I decide to go for a walk until I feel tired again. Quietly I slip on my boots and exit the dorms. The compound is dark, darker than usual. There are no members around, probably all in bed. Most of the stores are closed, the lights around them all turned off. I walk to the chasm and sit on the rail. I'm terrified of this thing, yet I always find myself coming here when I need to think.

I stare at the water for what seems like hours. When I check my watch again it only reads three o'clock. Right as I'm about to leave a strong arm wraps itself around my waist. I gasp but almost scream, losing my balance. The arm tightens and I turn my head and come face to face with Eric.

"Here to claim your second title as first jumper?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

_Second title?_

Then I remember where I am, and what I must look like. I was sitting on the chasm rail for forty five minutes; my eyes were red and puffy from crying in my sleep. Of course it looked like I was thinking about jumping.

"Of course not," I say stepping down from the rail, "I just couldn't sleep." Then it dawns on me. "Why are you here so late?"

He meets my gaze and responds, "Similar reasons I guess."

We both turn to look at the water. After a while the silence becomes uncomfortable. I look at Eric from the corner of my eye and see that he's staring at me with a smirk. He slowly reaches his hand up and touches my bottom lip.

"Nice piercing," he says, "Did you get any tattoos yet?"

"Not yet," I respond, "I don't know what it would be if I got one…plus combat training is tomorrow. I don't want to have such an easy weakness exploited." My eyes travel down his neck, examining his tattoos. He's wearing a sleeveless shirt, so I can see the entire maze on his right arm. I wonder why he got those.

My eyes travel back up his body and stop at his lips momentarily before meeting his eyes again. When they do he is still looking at me and he lets out a laugh. I can't stop the blush that travels across my face. He just caught me checking him out.

I like a challenge. Every time Eric and I meet gazes he raises his eyebrows, challenging me to look away. I reach my hand up and run my fingertips down his neck and stop at the collar of his shirt.

"Do they stop here or are there more?" I ask tapping the tattoos. He steps back and goes to turn away, "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

He walks off the bridge and to the hallway. Before he leaves he says one more thing.

"Get to bed, initiate. I don't want to catch you here again this late." And then he leaves.

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The next morning at breakfast I walk to our table to see Jace and Dante in a very heated arm wrestling match. The entire table is watching closely at their even match. I sit down and grab a muffin. After a few minutes neither of them have a lead and we only have ten minutes to get to training.

"Let's go guys," I say. Justin and Mya stand with me.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not leaving until I beat this loser," argued Jace. I walk over to Dante and lay my hand over his, pushing with him against Jace until his hand smacks the table and he lets out a frustrated sigh.

"That's not fair! Shelby you cheated!" cries Jace.

I just shake my head then start walking to the training room, Justin and Mya on my heels. When we walk in Eric and Four are just finishing putting up punching bags. Slowly the other initiates enter and when Alex gets there they begin.

"Today you will be learning how to fight. We'll go through some basic punches, kicks, and defense moves. If I was you, I'd pay attention unless you want to get hurt," says Four. He decides to split us in half, I end up learning from Eric with Mya. He shows the group a series of punches in the air and on a bag.

When I try executing the punches Eric showed us my bag barely moves. I really need to work on my arm strength. I look over and Mya seems to be doing worse than me. She isn't using the correct form so she's hurting her arm when she punches. Eric is standing against the wall watching us but not helping anyone. I walk over to Mya and grab her arm.

"Here," I start, "You need to keep your thumb wrapped around your fingers, not under them. You'll break your thumb if you punch like that." I also tell her about following through with her punches to get more power but who am I kidding, I'm not doing any better.

I walk back over to my bag and start kicking. Mid kick Eric grabs my thigh before it touches the bag. "What was that?" he questions. I look up and try to look as innocent as possible. "I think you called it a kick."

His jaw tightens with anger and he takes a deep breath, "I meant with the Amity."

"Well she needed help and our instructor wasn't instructing so I helped my friend."

_Shit, why didn't I stop myself from saying that?_

Eric and I look into each other's eyes and I don't like the anger boiling in his.

"Alright, initiate. Let me see you punch," he orders. I comply, sending a series of punches to the bag. Still, it didn't move very much. "It's different hitting something that doesn't hit back," I say.

Eric smiles and it makes me uncomfortable. He smiles like he just got the best idea ever. Suddenly he turns towards the other initiates.

"Listen up, the nose here thinks that punching the bag is pointless because it doesn't hit back," he says. That's when I retort, "Hey I never said it was point-"but he cuts me off.

"Originally we were going to wait until tomorrow to spar but there's no harm in a quick entertaining match." He walks through the training room motioning us with him. He stops at the ring in the center.

"Get up here nose, we're sparring."

Whispers pass through the crowd and Eric raises his eyebrows when I look at Four. "What? She implied she wants to hit something that will hit back. Now let's go." Justin who's standing next to me nudges me with his elbow.

"Don't worry, I don't think he will hurt you too bad. You're just an initiate."

_Yeah, an initiate who disrespected him._

I meet Eric's gaze and slowly make my way into the ring.

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_**A/N- So again I apologize for the late update. I hope you liked the chapter and I plan on updating once sometime before next week because on the 11**__**th**__** I'm going up north for a week so I don't know when I'll be able to update. Please review :)**_


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